Cloud Nine: A Game of Wonderful Things

Cloud Nine: A Game of Wonderful Things celebrates the things in life that bring us joy, with illustrations by Lisa Congdon.

Do you love campfires or video games? Wandering around a new city or falling in love? How about the feeling of losing track of time, being out in nature, or listening to music that moves you? We all have special things that make us feel alive and connected to the world, and playing Cloud Nine was made to share them with each other.

In Cloud Nine, players choose from over 300 Cloud Cards to build their personalized collection of nine treasured things, with 50 Action Cards to mix up gameplay. The Cloud Cards represent a wide assortment of things and experiences, big and small, that bring out a range of emotions from joy and happiness to wonder and amazement, as well as simple pleasures like favorite foods. Each Cloud Card also includes questions that players can use as conversation prompts to learn more about why we love the things we do.

How to play: To start the game, draw nine random Cloud Cards from the deck and place them face up in a 3x3 grid, known as “the Sky.” The Sky is shared by all players, and must always be filled as cards are taken. On each turn, players can choose from one of two options: Take a Cloud Card from the Sky. If you see something you love in the Sky, take the Cloud Card and add it to your own collection. Replace the card you took with a new card from the deck. Remove a row of Cloud Cards from the Sky. If you don’t love any of the Cloud Cards, you can discard an entire row in any direction, replacing it with three new cards from the deck to choose from. If you still don’t love any of the cards, your turn ends without adding a new card to your collection. If any card you’ve drawn from the deck is an Action Card, you must use it immediately, following its instructions before ending your turn. The first player to collect nine Cloud Cards is the winner! Now try spinning all nine cards into a story about how you’d love to spend one beautiful day packed full with things you love. (Bonus: Go out and do it!)

—description from the publisher